


choosing death

by kemia



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Healing wounds, M/M, Non-Black Eagles Route, Post-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-27 04:44:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20942489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kemia/pseuds/kemia
Summary: after a horrific loss in battle, linhardt heals his beloved’s wounds, but there isn’t much time left before the war ends, one way or another.





	choosing death

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stercusfit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stercusfit/gifts).

> linbert is SO good and its like, being slept on. anyway this is a gift based on linbert art drawn by @giorfu on twitter:
> 
> https://twitter.com/giorfu/status/1180896104428081152?s=21
> 
> PLEASE go look before you read it’s beautiful and sad... just like this is gonna be so be ready
> 
> for more three houses stuff check out my twitter @vestraegir

“You’re awfully quiet.”

Linhardt was the first to say anything in what seemed like eons, and it had to be that. It wasn’t as if Hubert expected him to be any good at breaking tension - hell, the bluntness of his words was usually what created it. But, for once, Hubert could feel the effort and _desperation_ to stir the silent air, and it made his inability to form a coherent sentence far more painful.

Amber eyes skirted along the ground, looking for anything to focus on that wasn’t the dreadful state of his mind or the pain searing his abdomen or the sullen pulses of magic flowing through him that were supposed to be soothing. Hubert only wished something could be soothing to him at this moment, but there was nothing.

The advancing opposition was strong. Strong, and unwilling to be swayed by anything - those were two factors that led so many people on Edelgard’s side to their demise. He couldn’t keep his mind off of just how many familiar faces lay dead on the streets, weapons thrown aside as if they were some horrifying testament to false peace. He couldn’t keep his mind off of how so few of the people he knew remained, and how that guilt would haunt him, surely, for the rest of time.

No more words tempted the silence for some time. Linhardt worked dutifully, despite the blood that surely stained his hands, and that was just another thing that Hubert held guilt for. He felt the gentle brush of fingertips against his skin, and the soft embrace of bandages around his torso, hiding his wound from sight.

Hubert figured, whether or not Linhardt made him as good as new, made him whole again, they’d not have much time left between the two of them. He knew, as his ambitions aligned with Edelgard’s own, he would fight until his last and dare not see a world of any other kind.

His throat felt lined with acid, tongue coated in poison, but he had to speak. Something.

“... I must apologize, Linhardt.”

He heard what sounded like a sigh, as the wrap around him grew tighter.

“For what, exactly? You know I hardly have the energy for grudges, or remembering things that could have possibly slighted me. And this, of course, wasn’t your fault. So I don’t blame you.”

Hubert felt only apathy, but still, he smiled. Faint, quite broken, and lasting only a moment, but loving, nonetheless.

“No, I apologize for leading you into this madness along with me. You only ever wanted a peaceful life, away from the battlefield, and yet somehow, beyond all reason, you fell in love with a soiled wretch like myself. And now you’re here.”

The wrapping around him stopped. There were sounds of Linhardt shuffling about, and then he moved in front of Hubert. He crouched down, taking both sides of Hubert’s face into his hands.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. Beyond all reason? You’ve managed to insult your charm and my intelligence at the same time.”

Hubert felt his chest pound dully, harshly. He still couldn’t fathom just why Linhardt valued him over the things he had always said meant so much to him.

Over the years, Hubert had learned so many things - he learned through a night of unexpected tears that Linhardt despised war and blood and losing the things he thought precious. Yet, all the things he despised were now the norm, all owed to an inexplicable love for a monsterous man like himself.

He didn’t understand, and he was sure he never would.

“... They’re approaching the palace. Quickly. You could still escape, and see this world through without me.”

Linhardt’s expression fell grim. Without warning, he pulled Hubert’s lips to his own, but his eyes remained open. For the first time, Hubert saw a true flame of conviction within them. He loathed that it had to be for himself. When Linhardt pulled away, he kept their foreheads connected.

“... It’s true that I fear death, and all things that accompany it. However…” Linhardt breathed in, his breath hitching. “... At the same time, I simply can’t imagine the paradise I seek existing without you. I no longer want to run. I want to face this with you.”

A swell of pain grew in Hubert’s throat - it had been decades since he’d even considered tears. He wanted Linhardt to live, so badly that he’d kill and be killed endlessly for his sake, but he _had_ to be the one thing that Linhardt simply wouldn’t abandon. It was the worst feeling in the world… but he felt so much joy, regardless.

“... I understand. If I cannot convince you, then I suppose my only option left is to see through the end of this war, and achieve that paradise you seek.”

His arms moved themselves around Linhardt’s shoulders, pulling him close.

“Since we’re both fools, I’ll have to protect you with everything that I am.”

Even if he didn’t believe in miracles, he believed in that, at the very least.


End file.
